Hang Your Head
by TheCocaineDiaries
Summary: There is more to Warren's bullying than meets the eye. Will knows. And it's all his fault. WillXWarren
1. Chapter 1

Will had been an official student in Sky High for about a month now, and he still could barely find his way around.

He wove through the crowds of students in the busy hallway. He spotted a few freshman like himself, but most of the kids were older. Will was already short for his age; he didn't need to feel even more self-conscious as a group of towering juniors pushed past him.

He sighed, and remembered the words Layla had given him when he started this new school: 'You're going to grow tall soon, Will. I should know. My mom has long since sensed the vibrations of a near approaching growth spurt from you."

Will smirked. Leave it to Layla to cheer him up in her odd way.

He noticed a few awkward looking freshman attempting to lean casually against the wall, and he felt slightly more cool compared to them, even if without any good reason. He noticed a pair of cute sophomore girls heading his way, and he flashed them his best attempt at a flirtatious smile.

They giggled, and Will hoped that meant he had been successful. He stared after them as they passed him, enjoying the way their hips swayed and how their long hair bounced along their shoulders.

He was still grinning to himself when he turned the corner, walking straight into something hard and clad in black.

"Oh... oh, I'm s..." Will managed to squeak out, but was cut off by dark, intimidating eyes.

He took another shot at speaking. "Um... hi, Warren..." he whispered, realizing who it was.

The boy answered by tilting his head ever so slightly, letting his long hair fall even more and creating shadows upon his face, enhancing the menacing, sculpted bone structure and heavy brows.

Will tried to stop his knees from trembling, and mumbled a "Okay... bye...". He cautiously stepped away from the muscular boy, heading quickly in the opposite direction, ignoring the fact that it was the same way he had come, and that he knew the boy was still staring after him.

_Shit..._ he thought to himself. _I'm going to be late to class, all because of that stupid Warren Peace..._

He was right. He received a glare from his teacher as he entered the classroom three minutes after the bell had rung. He looked down from he eyes, and slid into a seat beside Layla.

"Hey," she greeted in a whisper. "Where were you?"

"Oh... I just got lost," he said vaguely. He decided not to tell her about the death glares he had received from the long since nominated 'toughest guy in school.'

She nodded, accepting his excuse, and went back to taking notes. Will sighed and gazed around the room, not in the mood to pay attention. He had always been an average student in school, whereas Layla, his best friend, was one of the top students already. Will lay his head on the desk, wanting rest.

When he opened them to check the time, he noticed Layla staring worriedly at his blank paper.

"What?" he whispered, catching her eyes.

She shook her head. "Will," she spoke, "I want you to do well this year. Isn't that what you promised your parents?"

Will looked down. "What does it matter? I'll never be good enough to satisfy them."

Layla patted his arm, her hand resting on his a little too long.

"You can borrow my notes. I'll help you. We can study together," she suggested, looking at him with hopeful green eyes.

"Oh... ok," he spoke.

Her face broke into a small smile. "How about today, after school?"she said excitedly.

Will look at her, realizing her suggestion had been quite literal. "Ok," he said again, not exactly looking forward to spending his afternoon studying.

But the look on her face made it almost worth it. Her eyes lit up, and her smile grew even bigger. "Great!" she said.

The teacher hushed them, and she obediently went back to taking notes.

Right after school, like she promised, Layla met Will in front of the school, eagerly taking his arm. "Hi, Will! Are we going now?" she asked, clearly excited.

Will smiled. "Yeah, sure," he answered.

She grinned, and the two walked down the front steps to where the school bus stood, a stream of students climbing on. They did the same, entering the bus and taking a seat. Layla chatted excitedly as usual, reassuring Will that whatever they were going to study would be fun, and that her mom had promised to bake cookies that afternoon.

Will offered his smile as she babbled. He was glad that she was happy.

They arrived at her house shortly, greeted by the smell of freshly baked cookies.

"Mmm," Will mumbled, smelling the delicious aroma.

Layla giggled. "I told you!" she said. "Come on, they're in the kitchen."

When they had each grabbed a handful of cookies, they climbed up the stairs to Layla's room. The first time Will had visited Layla's room, years ago, it was necessary for him to blink a few times to get adjusted to all the green that echoed off every square inch of the bedroom. However, now, it was normal, and he smiled at the quirkiness of his best friend.

"So, what are we studying?" he asked cheerfully.

Layla smiled hugely at Will's eagerness. "Whatever you want!" she said. "Which subject are you having the most trouble with?"

"Um... all of them?" Will laughed.

Layla rolled her eyes, but chuckled. "Alright, then. We'll start with Technology," she announced. The two spread out on the green bed, bodies dangerously close, Will noticed.

Although it was much easier to pay attention to his best friend speaking instead of some teacher, Will still felt it wasn't exactly up to standard. In fact, this was almost... distracting.

Whenever Will would answer a question correctly, Layla would clap and rest her hand temporarily on his shoulder. As the afternoon progressed, her hand strayed lower and lower, coming to rest on Will's hand. And by the time they had moved on to another subject, Layla was practically on top of Will. Her body heat was distracting, and Will wasn't sure why.

_If this was any other one of my friends, would I be so distracted? _Will thought, noticing that Layla must have applied perfume while he wasn't looking.

His face heated up dangerously.

"I... I think I should go now," Will announced. "My mom wants me home."

Layla's face fell. "Are you sure?"

Will nodded, cheeks still flushed. "Yeah. Thanks for helping me, though," he smiled.

She returned the smile and reluctantly stood up off the bed, collecting Will's things for him. She walked him down the stairs, to the front door.

"I'll see you at school," Will said, and she nodded.

"Yep. See you," she answered.

The two looked at each other briefly, before exchanging a hug. It lasted a little too long than a normal, friendly hug should have, and he could have sworn he felt her face redden through his shirt. They finally let go, and Will started walking down the street, to his house.

'What happened back there?' Will wondered, cheeks still pink. 'This is just Layla... my best friend. Why did she act so differently today? And why did I react so strongly?'

His cheeks turned even redder when his parents asked what he was so happy about.


	2. Chapter 2

The day Will met Layla, he had been excited to see her again the next day, and the next. While his mom was driving him to school, where she would be, butterflies filled his stomach and stopped his speech. He knew, somehow, that she'd be his best friend forever.

The sensations filling his body today were much like those butterflies from years ago.

"Hi, Will!" Layla said cheerfully as she met him at the bus stop.

"Hey, Layla," he replied, face breaking into a grin. He noticed that she was wearing makeup today.

"Did you finish your homework alright?" she asked.

Will nodded. "Yep, no problem. Thanks to you," he added, feeling those damn butterflies again.

She grinned as the school bus pulled up by them. Climbing aboard, they greeted the driver, and took their seats next to their friends.

Will smiled and leaned back in his seat. Today was going to be a good day.

They pulled up by the school in record time, and all the new freshman spilled out, talking and laughing. Once inside, the halls didn't seem as menacing as usual, with Layla glued to Will's side, already memorizing their schedule.

Even class didn't seem as bad as usual.

_I must be going crazy..._ Will thought with a chuckle, as he found himself actually paying attention.

"What's so funny?" Layla whispered, smiling.

Will blushed. "Oh, nothing. I just noticed that I was paying attention today..." he explained with a small laugh. "Surprise, surprise."

She laughed. "It's not such a surprise. You are smart, Will. You just need the proper motivation. That, and my amazing study sessions."

The two laughed quietly, Will suddenly ten times happier and willing to take notes.

In fact, he was so willing to do well, he stayed behind after class was over to ask the teacher if there was any extra credit he could use. She smiled, happy to see the change in heart, and assigned him a short essay on cultural diffusion and how it affected the growth of superheroes in the east.

He thanked her, grabbed his books, and checked his watch. He was already ten minutes late for lunch.

He hurried down to the cafeteria, searching the crowd of tables for his friends. He spotted them across the hall, eating and laughing like usual.

Will smiled. He already felt like he belonged, with his little group of friends. And things were going so well with Layla, especially after last night. They had become closer since high school started, it seemed. He wasn't sure why, but it was definitely so.

And she was so... so... pretty today.

_She should wear makeup more often,_ Will thought, gazing at his redheaded friend.

He shook his head, clearing the thoughts. _Am I actually thinking of Layla, my best friend, like this? She's my friend, and nothing more. I can't be thinking that she's pretty... right?_

"Hey, loser, what are you looking at?"

Will didn't even get a chance to look up at the voice before he was slammed into the wall behind him, books spilling everywhere. He fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"Looking at your girlfriend?" the voice spoke again. He felt a hard slap against his cheek, and his head flung to the side.

Eyes watering, he looked up at the leering face.

"Warren..." Will muttered, glaring.

"Don't glare at me," Warren Peace laughed. "Aren't you saving your eyes for her?"

Will was now lying on the ground, a sudden blow to his head forcing him on all fours. He wanted to fight back, to defend himself somehow. But he couldn't. He let the boy inflict his last few acts of pain, gritting his teeth.

"Might want to make yourself a little less obvious, next time," Warren muttered, stepping over Will's body and walking away.

Will coughed, slowly sitting up.

"Oh my god, Will, are you okay?!" Layla asked, voice raised in panic, as she ran over and kneeled before him.

Will looked up, seeing the girl whom he'd been punished for looking at.

"Yeah... I'm okay," he said, forcing a smile upon his face, and wobbling to his feet. "That didn't even hurt too bad," he reassured her.

It was embarrassing, having her worrying about him.

She shook her head, eyes furious. "That damn Warren Peace..." she muttered in a low voice. "He's going to pay for that."

Will rolled his eyes and touched her shoulders. "Don't worry about it. It was just Warren being Warren."

She gaped at him. "Are you serious?! He just beat you up for no reason!" she exclaimed.

Will sighed. "He didn't beat me up. Just a few punches, that's all. Now can we please move on?" he said, standing up on his feet.

"But..." Layla started, but Will touched her hand. She closed her mouth, and they walked back to their table.

Will ever so cautiously looked over to his shoulder to see if Warren was still there.


	3. Chapter 3

He didn't know how he got there.

He didn't know what started it.

All Will knew was that right now, at this moment, he was pinning Layla to the floor of her livingroom.

"Will, stop...!" she let out, laughing like a crazy person.

Okay, he was only tickling her. Maybe Will was getting his hopes up too much.

Layla shot her hands up, attacking Will's stomach with her fingers. "Come on, aren't you ticklish, too?" she asked playfully.

Will shook his head. "Not there!" he answered, smiling smugly.

Layla pursed her lips, then moved her fingers to his neck. "How about there?" she asked, grinning as wild laughter erupted from Will's mouth.

"Stop it...! Oh my god, haha... Layla, stop!" he sputtered, face turning red as he nearly ran out of breath laughing.

"Okay, okay, enough you two," Layla's mother said from the doorway.

Will rolled off of Layla, and they both lay on the carpeted floor, panting and giggling like children. Will was vaguely aware of her mother's suspicious expression as she told them to keep it down and left the room.

Layla sat up, Will following her, and turned her head toward her study partner. "Well, we wasted lots of time!" she announced, smiling goofily.

He grinned. "I know! We didn't even finish our homework," he responded, gesturing to the pile of forgotten books on the sofa, where they had been sitting just twenty minutes ago.

"I have too much fun with you, Will," Layla said. She was smiling, and looking into Will's face as though expecting something from him.

"Yeah... me too..." Will muttered, looking away as he felt heat rise to his face. Why did she have to look at him like that?

"Will, you know you're my best friend in the world, right?" she continued, voice dropping so that the whisper was more private; intimate. "I know we're becoming so close to our new friends at school like Magenta, Ethan, and Zach, but we'll always be each other's number ones, right?"

She was looking at him with those large, green eyes that had recently been able to reduce Will to a puddle of mush.

"Of course, Layla," Will finally said, his voice now low and husky, matching her's. "We've been best friends since first grade. No one will ever replace you," he promised. He leaned over to give her a hug.

They wrapped their arms around each other, breathing in the scent of one another. They stayed that way for a few minutes, longer than ever before. Layla and Will had always been friends, but sometimes the girl/boy factor made it awkward.

But not this time. This hug was almost... perfect.

Will could still feel where Layla's arms had been around him the next day at school, as though they had been burned into his skin. When he saw Layla in his classes, heat was constantly rushing to his face, and he couldn't explain it.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" he asked in the middle of History as he and Layla bumped elbows for what seemed to be the billionth time that day.

His face felt too hot, and he splashed cold water on his skin in the boys' bathroom. He took a deep breath and leaned against the sink, staring deeply into the reflection of his own eyes.

"What is wrong with me...?" he muttered. Why was Layla making him react this way?

He heard a flush and creak of a stall door opening and slamming shut. He whipped around, feeling invaded. He hadn't even realized someone was in the room with him.

He especially hadn't been expecting Warren Peace, rolling up the sleeves of his black leather jacket and moving toward Will, and the sink.

"What's wrong with you?" Warren repeated Will's question, washing his hands in the cold water. "Why do you ask?"

Will gulped, his hands clammy, mouth at a loss for words. He was preparing himself for the worst - Warren taking that tanned, muscular arm of his and punching him in the face.

But he didn't. Warren just dried his hand, brown hair swinging onto his face, and glanced up at Will expectantly.

"Well?" he asked. "I said, why do you ask?"

Will took a deep breath. "Um... no reason... no reason at all..." he stammered, voice quivering. He looked away, knowing that wouldn't satisfy Warren's question. But he couldn't tell him. If he told him what his reason was for being so flustered - Layla - Warren would for sure beat him up.

It briefly crossed Will's mind that bullies shouldn't care which girl the victim liked. That shouldn't be enough reason for someone to punch someone else. Unless that person was jealous of the other person...

_No way. There is no way Warren likes Layla_, Will thought firmly. And he was sure of himself. He knew Warren didn't like Layla. He just knew. But he couldn't admit how he knew, not even to himself.

He spotted Warren glaring at him. "Why are you so terrified? Why can't you just say something?" he demanded.

Will couldn't make his mouth form words. He opened his mouth several times, but nothing came out.

Warren sighed. "Jesus," was what he muttered.

Will closed his eyes, ready for the punch that never came. He blinked open his eyes when he heard boots stomping across the tiled floor, and the bathroom door swinging shut.

He exhaled, and ran a hand through his messy, dirty-blonde hair.

Warren hadn't hurt him today, which was a relief. This didn't guarantee him, however, free passage for the rest of the day. Warren could snap at any moment, hurt him when he found a reason.

Will shook the thoughts from his head and left the bathroom, heading back toward his class. He entered the classroom with an apology for taking so long, and sat back down beside Layla, where she gave him a brief smile before turning back to her work.

Will held his head in his hands, and stared into space.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Warren wasn't always the typical bully that he envisioned him to be. He was a year older than Will, but he never saw him socializing with anyone. Weren't bullies supposed to be in big gangs, picking on any loser who crept their way?

"Will," Layla whispered, laying her hand on top of his. "Pay attention," she whispered.

The heat returned to Will's face and he nodded, turning his face back to the teacher. The rest of the class went by in an agonizing blur. Will was concentrating so hard on repressing the blush from his face that he barely absorbed what the teacher was saying. When lunch came, his mind had not moved on to anything else.

"Hey, guys!" Layla said cheerfully as she plopped down beside Magenta, Zach, and Ethan. They all started talking excitedly, like children, about their classes and complaining about homework.

Will, however, was rather quiet. Zach glanced at him, noticing his silence, and saw him gazing absentmindedly in the distance. Following his gaze, Zach found who he was looking at.

"Is that Warren guy giving you a hard time?" Zach asked, an edge to his voice upon seeing the dark haired bully at his usual table.

Will was snapped from his thoughts. "What? Oh... no, I guess," he answered vaguely. Zach only stared at him more, wanting more information. Will sighed. "Well, I saw him in the bathroom today. And he didn't do anything to me. It just made me think, or something..."

Zach raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's weird," he responded. He looked back over his shoulder, taking another look at Warren Peace. "He's just a weird guy in general, really."

Will nodded. There was more that he wasn't telling Zach, more that he wasn't telling himself. It was as though he wanted to remember something, but there was nothing to remember. It was an odd feeling.

Will suddenly wanted to change the subject. "Zach..." he said, voice dropping. His blonde friend noticed the change in his tone, and paid attention to the next few words.

"I have a bit of a problem..." Will continued.

"Yeah?" Zach asked, curious.

"It's about Layla..." Will whispered, voice barely audible to him and Zach.

Zach perked up. "I knew it!" he said too loudly. Everyone at the table looked at him oddly.

Will let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, not here, Zach. Let's talk after school, okay?" he said quietly, standing up and collecting his things. Zach nodded firmly, saluting Will as though keeping some huge secret that was only between the two of them.

Will was anxious for the end of the day. His last three classes consisted of Layla urging Will to take notes and participating, making a point of taking his hand in her's and raising it for him. Zach looked at the scene with a smirk on his face, and ran up to Will as soon as the last bell rang.

"Okay, dude, tell me everything," he said, dragging Will into the boys' bathroom where Layla couldn't hear.

Will sighed. "Isn't it obvious? I think I... I think I like her," he confessed, voice dropping.

Zach's face broke into a huge grin. "I knew it, man! I knew it! You should ask her out!" he exclaimed.

Will looked up at him in horror. "What? No! I mean... I want to... but how would I do that? I've never asked out a girl before..."

Zach put his finger to his chin, apparently thinking deeply. "Neither have I. But it can't be that hard. You just, you know, ask her out. And then she'll say yes or no."

Will sighed. "Thanks," he muttered.

"But don't worry about it, Will," Zach continued. "I'm sure she likes you too."

Will's ears perked up. "Really?" he asked.

Zach nodded. "Mmm-hmm. Can't be 100 percent, but I'm pretty sure."

Will grinned. "I hope so..." he spoke. "But I still don't know... I'll have to think about it."

"Yeah," Zach responded, nodding. "Don't want to mess up your friendship and everything, y'know?"

Will nodded. "I have to do some hard thinking tonight."


	4. Chapter 4

As Will promised, he thought long and hard that night as he lay in bed.

He thought about Layla. Should he take Zach's advice, and ask her out? Or should he wait, and see if maybe there was some sort of mistake; Layla was Will's best friend! Why would she like him? Maybe Will's hopefulness was just that; hopefulness. Nothing more.

_But maybe… she does like me_, Will thought. _At least a little._ _And I like her, right?_

Will turned onto his side. He _did_ want to ask Layla out, but would he be able to? He had never had a girlfriend before! He didn't know the first thing about it.

_This is a tough decision…_ Will thought glumly._ Maybe my head will be clear in the morning._

It wasn't. Will considered the pros and cons as he got dressed, the possible outcomes as he ate breakfast, and the probability of her saying 'yes' as he walked to the bus stop.

"Good morning, Will," Layla greeted him as he walked up to her at the bus stop.

Somehow, Will's mind stopped turning and became empty, like it had been doing recently around Layla. "M… morning…" he mumbled, tired from thinking all night about her. They boarded the bus and sat together, as always. Zach was in front of them, talking away, but every once in a while he gave Will a questioning look.

"So, dude, what are you gonna…?"

"I've got to go!" Will exclaimed, racing off away from Zach. He really, _really_ didn't feel like telling Zach that over 12 hours was not enough time to decide.

He was one of the first people to step into the classroom, which meant all the seats around him got filled up quickly. By the time Layla and his other friends walked in, they gave Will weird looks and sat in some empty seats.

Will let out a sigh of relief. He needed some alone time, and he would never come to a conclusion if Layla was next to him the entire time. His brain started working properly for the first time since his walk to the school bus, and he settled onto the thoughts of asking Layla out.

_No, this is so stupid!_ Will thought. _She's going to say no, she's going to say no, she only sees me as a friend, she's way too smart for me… but why does she keep holding my hand, and being even friendlier, and acting shy, and… this is so confusing._

His next class was a bit better. His thoughts were more positive, at least.

_Layla has been acting a lot different around me lately. I think Zach's right, maybe she does like me! In that case, I should definitely ask her out. But what should I say…?_

His next class was Elective, the only one without Layla. Everyone in Hero Support was given a few choices for Elective class; Superhero Comic Art, Superhero Chess, and the Famous Sidekicks of the Twentieth Century. All of Will's friends had chosen Comic Art, as did most of the class, but Will turned out to be the only one stuck in 'Famous Sidekicks…'. He sat with his head in his hands, staring into space, thinking about the ways he should ask Layla out.

_I could send her flowers, with a note attached! No, that's too girly. Maybe I could just send the note? No, she'll think I'm a coward. I just have to do it, face to face, like normal people…_

"Mr. Stronghold?" a voice asked dangerously.

Will was snapped from his daydreams. "Um, yes?"

The teacher, Ms. InvisiWoman, rolled her eyes. "Mr. Stronghold, have you been paying attention at all for this entire class?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"No you haven't! Don't lie to me! Detention after school, one hour!" she yelled. She sniffed and turned around back to the board.

Will sat in his seat, open-mouthed. _Detention?!_

During lunch, Will sat glumly, staring at his sandwich.

"Okay, dude, why can't you hang out again?" Ethan asked from across the table.

Will sighed. "I already told you, I have detention after school," he explained.

"But why? You just weren't paying attention? You know Ms. InvisiWoman gets mad at that," Magenta said, raising her eyebrows at Will as if to tell him that he was an idiot for getting himself into this mess.

"I know! My mind was just… preoccupied… that's all," Will mumbled.

His friends all sighed. "Whatever, we'll just meet up tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

After school, Will solemnly trudged to the detention room. He had spent a few minutes talking with his friends, trying to squeeze in a bit of fun, and now the halls were totally empty. He could hear his footsteps echo. He turned the corner and came face-to-face with a big steel door with the words "Detention Hall" marked in black right over it. He rolled his eyes to himself, and briefly wondered if iPods were allowed, when he pushed open the door.

"Stronghold."

_Oh,_ _shit_, Will cursed.

"Thank you for joining us, Will Stronghold," the detention monitor said sarcastically as he glanced at his watch to accentuate the fact that he was late.

But Will wasn't looking at him, nor did he answer, because he was staring at one other face in the room: Warren Peace.

Will suppressed the huge groan that was about to come out, and instead focused on signing in on a sheet and listening to the monitor's directions to sit away from everyone else, and not to talk.

_That won't be a problem,_ Will thought as he made his way to a seat as far from Warren as possible.

Warren had been eyeing him while he was standing at the front of the room, but was now turning a page in a thick, battered novel. Will found this interesting: Warren Peace liked reading? It seemed rather un-bully like.

_It's probably for school or whatever,_ Will convinced himself, as though that made it less of a good reason.

"Um… are we allowed to listen to our iPods?" Will asked softly as he raised his hand.

The detention monitor glanced at him. "Nope," he said. "That would make detention _fun_. And detention should not be fun."

Will stared at him. "Um… okay." He thought he saw Warren snort and roll his eyes.

Will pulled out some homework and tried concentrating on it, pencil poised and ready. But the minutes dragged by, and he grew more and more impatient.

_What kind of school makes us write essays for P.E. anyway?!_ Will thought in exasperation.

There was a faint 'click', but it was enough to make Will look up. He saw that the detention monitor was gone, along with his bag and possessions.

"He left?" Will said aloud in disbelief. He heard a chuckle and jumped, realizing it was his leather jacket-wearing enemy.

"Even nerds get bored sometimes, I guess," he said. "That guy was a senior; I know him."

Will nodded vaguely, trying not to look scared. "Oh…" he mumbled.

"In that case…" one of the other detention-doers said, standing up. "I'm going for a 'bathroom break'." He winked, and left the room.

Will gulped. Was he the only normal kid in the room? Surely not every kid that entered detention was a complete delinquent? There was one shy-looking kid in the corner, but all the other kids were slowly getting up and leaving the room. Will stared at all of them. They had guts. Not like him.

Warren got up and stretched. He pushed his long hair out of his face and stuffed his book into his black bag. He swung it over his shoulders and turned around.

Will realized he was staring right at him, and quickly looked away. He pretended to do his homework, tapping his pencil against the paper and creating annoying dots. He didn't like that, and wondered if Warren was gone yet.

"Stronghold," Warren said in that commanding, authoritive voice of his.

Will jumped and slowly looked up. "Um…" he squeaked.

Warren was standing nonchalantly, all his weight on one foot. "You seriously going to stay here? Everyone else is leaving, if you haven't noticed."

"I… I noticed," Will said, not exactly looking into Warren's face.

"Is this your first detention?" Warren asked.

"Well, my first at Sky High," Will answered. He looked briefly into Warren's eyes, as though he was just talking to his friend, but backed off at the intensity he felt.

"It's kinda two hours long. Well, it is for people like us. I don't know what you did. It might be shorter for you."

Will nodded vaguely. He didn't want to admit that he had been put in detention for something as stupid as not paying attention for one class. Warren and the others had probably killed someone, for all he knew.

"You should leave, too," Warren said.

"Um… no, it's okay. I don't want to get in trouble," Will said. _I sound like such an idiot… _he thought.

Warren chuckled. "You're already in trouble, kid. A little more won't hurt. Come on."

Warren nodded toward the door, and Will didn't know what to do. On one hand, he didn't want to look like a wimp, especially not for Warren. That would probably make it even easier for him to beat him up. And, of course, he really didn't want to be stuck in detention for two hours. On the other hand, this was _Warren Peace_, notoriously the toughest guy at school. This could be a trick. Maybe Warren wasn't the blatantly-pissed-off-beat-up-the-nerd guy. Maybe he was clever.

"Well?" Warren said, starting to get impatient.

But Will could tell Warren was determined, for some reason. He didn't want to him to say no.

"Okay…" Will finally said.

He stood up, not looking at Warren, and stuffed his papers back in his backpack. He swung it over his shoulder and stepped forward to show he was ready, looking at the floor.

"Let's go," Warren said.

Will followed Warren down the hall, keeping his eyes on the shine of the black leather. He was surprised by the maze of hallways in Sky High. He had never been to this particular part of the building, and was pretty sure it was mainly for teachers and offices and, of course, detention. He might have gotten lost, or at least caught, if not for Warren. The thought confused him somewhat.

"We're going by the teacher's office now, try not to make so much noise," Warren commanded.

Will piped an "okay" and tried to silence his footsteps. It was difficult, with his squeaky sneakers. He wondered how Warren could keep quiet with his heavy-looking boots. They were soon past the office and Will was beginning to recognize the places. He could see the entrance down the hall.

"We're here!" Will said.

Warren shushed him. "Be quiet, there's our detention monitor," Warren whispered, stopping. He leaned against the wall, where the doorway would cover him.

Will did the same. "So that's where he went," he said.

Warren shushed him again. "We'll just wait until he leaves."

In the silence, Will started to think. He realized he was no longer pondering his girl problems, and, instead, was skipping detention with Warren! And, honestly, they way they were acting didn't seem very bully/freshman-like. It was almost, almost, _almost_ like they were friends. Or, at least they didn't hate each other.

"Hey, is she waiting for you?" Warren asked all of a sudden.

"What?" Will asked, craning his neck. He saw immediately what Warren was looking at: He was staring out into the large windows at the entrance, where Layla was in plain sight, sitting on the steps.

"Um…" Will began, "I don't know. I guess she is."

Warren was frowning. "I thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend."

"I never said that…" Will said. His cheeks reddened. "I mean, she isn't, technically."

That didn't seem to please Warren. "Technically?" he asked dangerously.

Will wanted to say something, but his voice only squeaked. "Um…"

So much for not hating each other. Warren seemed to be fuming, glaring at Will with a new intensity in his eyes.

Will started shaking. Warren hadn't exactly been nice to him so far in the school year, but he hadn't beat him up quite yet. Was he going to start now?

Remarkably, at that exact moment, the detention monitor moved down the hall, in the opposite direction, and Will took his chance to make his escape. He knew Warren wouldn't do anything, or risk getting caught. Will didn't look back as he exited the school and walked down he stairs to where Layla was seated. She jumped up when she saw him.

"Hey, Will!" she said.

"Layla..." he began. "There's something I need to talk to you about."


	5. Chapter 5

The next day at school, everyone had heard the news. They had already seen the new couple holding hands, sitting closer than usual, with a constant blush on their face. Some people were surprised that the first couple of the year were two unpopular sidekicks, but most were not surprised at all. Will and Layla's friends were certainly not surprised in the least, and were very happy for them.

Will had asked Layla to be his girlfriend the Friday that he had detention, and they had spent the entire weekend together. They studied, hung out with their friends, and shared their first kiss that Sunday night. Layla now had a constant look of happiness on her face, and Will loved to make her feel so happy. He had never felt about any girl the way he felt about Layla; She was his first girlfriend.

While Will was very happy, he could not stop the nagging dread at the pit of his stomach that he knew was caused by Warren, and whatever terror he would have to face when he got to school on Monday and his usual bully found out about his new girlfriend. A small part of him was afraid, and hoped to God that Warren would leave him and Layla alone, finally getting the message that nothing would keep Layla away. Another part of him was smug, knowing that him and Layla would make Warren angry, and it felt nice to have some sort of power over the strongest guy at school, in some little way. Another part of him felt guilty for wanting Warren to feel bad, and for wanting to enjoy it.

Well, it was not like he would enjoy seeing Warren mad exactly. It just felt nice to know that he could affect someone that much, even if the reasons of why Warren would give a damn at all were lost to Will.

Yet on Monday morning Will awoke with a burst of bravery. He didn't care about Warren. What was the worst he could on school grounds, anyway? Will got out of bed with energy, passing by his clothes from yesterday on the floor with a smile; He had spent so much time picking out his outfit that day, trying to be perfect for seeing Layla. He knew she had spent just as much time on her own wardrobe, and she looked great, as usual.

After chasing down a granola bar with milk from the carton, Will was out the door to catch the school bus. He spotted Layla sitting in an empty seat and filled it eagerly.

"Good morning," he said, picking up Layla's hand and giving it a little kiss. He did it jokingly, as to show affection without seeming too serious. She giggled appreciatively. Will spotted Zach winking at him from the next seat up.

Will's morning classes went by in a breeze, Layla's firm hand in his giving him the motivation to pay attention in class and participate accordingly. He had handed in all his homework that day. His classmates, as well as some of his teachers, had congratulated him, making his smile beam even more.

"I don't think Warren Peace likes me very much either," Layla said during study hall.

Will's head shot up. "What? Why? Did he hurt you?" he asked, voice filling with panic.

"No, no, nothing like that," she answered, waving her hands. "I just noticed him glaring at me today in the hallway," she explained. "I thought that was weird. I guess he doesn't like anyone really. First you, now me," she laughed a little.

Will tried to let out a weak laugh. Layla was so oblivious, thank god.

Unfortunately, her comment made Will dread the upcoming lunch period. He considered feigning a sudden interest in eating outside, or a vague stomach sickness and escaping to the nurse. But those thoughts annoyed Will; why did he always have to be forced to put in so much thought about Warren?

So, instead of thinking at all, Will walked into the lunch room with Layla proudly by his side. Warren was at his table, but Will tried not to look at him. He sat down with his friends and started eating. He hoped it would be a quiet lunch, but with several cheers and whistles for him and Layla, his hopes vanished.

Lunch was vaguely normal, and Will finished his food quickly. Wanting the period to be over as soon as possible, he picked up his tray and started toward the trash cans. He would have to pass by Warren's table, but he seemed to be engrossed in a thick book sitting in his leather-gloved hands, so he decided to quickly walk by and be done with it.

Unfortunately, Will was hurrying a little too much, and didn't notice the abandoned tray on the floor in front of him. Will stumbled over the tray and came toppling down, right next to Warren's seat.

Warren looked up, surprised, from his book and at Will lying on the ground. The two stared at each other for a bit, hearing laughter in the background, until Layla came to Will's side.

"Will? Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked, trying to lift him by his arm.

Will panicked. "Layla, go back to the table…" he muttered, but was unheard underneath Layla's concerned words.

A few people in the cafeteria whistled, or made rude gestures at the scene, causing Will's face to redden, refusing to look into Warren's eyes, afraid of what he might see.

"Look at the lovebirds on the floor," Zach laughed to Magenta.

Warren, unfortunately, heard this, and said slowly, "Lovebirds, huh?"

Will internally smacked himself. Warren's stunned expression told him that the bully had had no idea about Layla and Will. He was always so absorbed in his books and in his head, not bothering with any of his classmates, that all the rumors had evaded him. It was only natural, and yet Will had not thought of that. Now he had just presented the news to Warren on a silver platter, in the worst way possible, right to his face.

Warren looked angry, yes, but that anger was mixed with something else, Will noticed. Hurt…?

"I guess you get everything you want, huh, Stronghold?" he said dangerously. "You already have a father, and now you have the perfect little girlfriend, right?"

Will realized that Warren was _literally _asking him those questions. Warren still had some hope that the two were not together, and was asking Will to prove him wrong.

But Will could not do that. So he stayed silent. A few seconds passed, and Warren's expression lost any shred of vulnerability in it, replaced by fury. He stood up suddenly, grabbing Will by shirt collar. Layla screamed for him to let him go, but of course Warren didn't listen. He didn't even look at her. His dark eyes were locked with Will's honey-colored ones, menacing. He threw Will away from him, letting him crash into a table near the windows. A few students scattered, startled. Warren stomped after his victim, spread out on the flattened lunch table, lifted him again, and threw him in another direction. He followed him once more and gave a few blows with his boot to Will's side. Will moaned, trying to keep the pain under control.

After a few minutes it seemed like Warren was done, because Will had stopped feeling the painful blows and heard Warren stomping out of the lunch room. He opened his eyes and sat up, wincing at the bruises that would surely come soon. Layla ran to his side, as well as his other friends, while the rest of the cafeteria cheered or went on with their meal.

"That was more painful than usual…" Will said softly. His friends looked at him, concerned.

What had Will started here?

---

A/N: STORY IS STARTING UP AGAIN, SORRY FOR THE HIATUS! =/


	6. Chapter 6

The morning after the incident in the cafeteria, Will awoke with a small beam of hope that Warren would forget all about him and Layla and everything would go back to normal.

That hope turned out to be completely pointless, as everywhere Will turned there was Warren, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, ready to slam Will into a locker, or push him to the floor. However, the violence in the cafeteria on Monday seemed to be the worst of it. For the rest of that week, there were no more beatings, just several warnings of what would happen if Warren got angry again.

Will was still a little afraid, noticing more than ever how large Warren's muscles seemed to be, and how much taller he was than himself. By the end of the week, even though he hated himself for it, he had stopped showing Layla affection in school, especially if he suspected Warren might be near.

"Will!" Layla exclaimed as Will shook off her hand from his shoulder in the lunch room. "What's with you lately?"

Will's eyes traveled a few tables away, to the empty table Warren always sat at, his territory.

"Seriously? This is all because of Warren?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows in annoyance.

"Layla, you saw him on Monday! He could have killed me!" he whined.

"You're exaggerating. Why would he want to end up in jail with his dad?"

Will stared at her. "Layla, that's really mean…"

"Well, I'm sure Monday was just a coincidence, because you fell right next to his table, or whatever. What other reasons does he have to hurt you?" she replied.

Will looked away. He couldn't tell her.

"That's right. Nothing," she said, answering his silence. "So you have no reason to be afraid," she said, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

He shivered in fright, daring to glance over at the "tough guy" table. Warren was glaring at them.

When lunch ended, Will bolted out of his seat and ran for the exit. He was almost there when he realized he forgot his bag at the table. He paused, hesitated, and turned around to see if danger was near. It looked clear. He started back toward his chair, his book bag in sight, grabbed it, then turned back around.

He ran right into Warren's heavily muscled chest. He mentally cursed himself and his book bag. He felt himself being raised by his shirt collar and dropped to the floor. A few kicks were dropped to his torso, just like Monday, but it was soon over, and Warren stalked away and out of the lunch room. Several people were staring, expressions ranging from shocked to entertained. Will sighed and sat up. He winced at the pain in his midsection.

"Layla…" he whispered as he saw his girlfriend standing over him. Her expression was no longer disapproving. She was worried. She extended a hand to help him up, and they walked silently to class together.

Layla's silence was proof to Will that she now understood why he was wary of Warren.

"Why do you think he beat you up again in the lunch room today?" she asked him softly in study hall.

Or not.

"Um…" Will started. "It's complicated."

"I can listen."

Will sighed. "Okay… well, this may sound crazy to you… but I think he may be upset because he's jealous."

There was a pause, before Layla's eyes widened and she put a hand to her mouth. "Seriously? Jealous? Of _us_?"

Will nodded solemnly. "It's crazy, right?"

Layla nodded her head vigorously. "It is! I mean, I never would have guessed that Warren Peace liked me!"

Will stared. _Layla thinks I'm talking about _her_? _He thought in disbelief to himself.

"Uh, yeah, me either," he replied. _Well, I guess that's better than the truth anyway._

"Well, that's just ridiculous!" Layla exclaimed. "He can't keep beating you up just because he's jealous of you and your girlfriend! That's so unethical."

"I know, but what can I do?" Will asked helplessly. "There's nothing to help the situation."

"Yes there is," Layla responded. "You just need to confront him about it. You need to let him know that there is no way he'll ever come between us, and that I will never be interested in him in a million years!"

Will stared at her in horror. "You mean… stand _up_ for myself? Are you crazy? He'll kill me!"

Layla sighed. "Will, he's not going to kill you. Stop with your exaggerating. This is becoming a dangerous situation, and it needs to be solved."

Will lowered his head in defeat. If he couldn't even stand up to Layla, how was he going to stand up to Warren Peace?

School was soon over. The students of Sky High started spilling out of the school building, gathering outside on the lawn and around the buses. Will, Layla, and the rest of his friends were next to the stairs. They could easily see when Warren walked out of the doors and down the stairs. As he approached the last step, Will walked up to him, stopping him in his tracks.

"What do you want, Stronghold?" Warren asked. His tone was dangerous and hopeful at the same time.

Will's panic started growing in his throat, making it hard to talk. "Um… I need to talk to you."

Warren cocked an eyebrow, a sign that Will could continue. From the corner of his vision, Will saw Layla watching and waiting.

"It's just… I need you to leave me and Layla alone. I don't want you to continue fighting me all the time."

There was a silence.

Warren looked a little lost for words. He was thinking deeply. He looked vulnerable, and started shaking his head, although Will's words couldn't have been more true to him. Instead of addressing what Will had said about Layla, he started picking on the other end of Will's demands.

"Fighting? I always thought fighting was meant to involve two equals, not one winning all the time," Warren smirked. "Maybe if you could even defend yourself from me, I would take you seriously."

Warren started to walk away. Will stepped in front of him again, stopping him. "This is me right now, Warren, defending myself from you. We are two equals."

Warren stared him down. "Oh, yeah? Defend yourself from this," he said, and immediately raised his fist, landing a blow right on Will's face.

Will's head snapped around, and he caught himself from falling, holding a hand to his now-bruised cheek. Instead of cowering in fear like he usually did, he got right back up and threw a similar punch back at Warren. Warren, not expecting that, was caught right on the side of his head. He growled, angry, and pushed Will harshly to the ground, but Will pulled him down with him.

The two landed on the ground, throwing punches and kicks. Will, knowing Warren was much stronger than him, put all his might into defeating him, landing one blow that knocked Warren on his side, the wind blown out of him. Warren, angry at the sudden pain, snapped right back around and forced his fist right into Will's stomach. As Will fell to the ground, he saw Warren's expression switch from angry, to horrified. He was staring down at his hand, seeming shocked by what he had just done. Will took advantage of the pause and lunged back up at him, making Warren land on his back. Will stood over him, landing a few more hits, and was surprised that he actually seemed to be winning.

Will stopped hitting him and looked at him carefully. Warren wasn't even trying to fight back. Both of them stayed still, staring at each other. Warren seemed pained, and Will knew it wasn't from the physical blows, because he had barely a scratch on him.

As kids around them started whispering, Warren leaped up at the last minute and threw a punch – much gentler than the last one – that made Will fall backwards. The fight was declared over, Warren the winner, as usual, however, this time it had been a fair fight. The Sky High students were surprised.

Layla ran up to Will, ecstatic, and hugged him. "Oh my god, you totally stood up to him! You know I hate violence, and I wish you hadn't gotten hurt, but now he probably won't even bother you any more!"

Warren had stomped away, and Will was staring after him.

"Sure, Layla… sure."

---

5 reviews = next chapter :]


	7. Chapter 7

When Will was walking home from school, he saw his dad out on the lawn playing ball with their dog. When he saw Will coming, he yelled "here, catch!" and threw the ball to his son. Will managed to catch it, but the force of the ball slammed into his stomach, and he yelped in pain.

"What the hell is that?" his dad demanded, seeing the bruise on Will's stomach as he lifted up his shirt to inspect the damage.

Will gulped. "Um… it's nothing."

"Like hell it isn't! You've got a nasty bruise forming there," The Commander insisted.

"I got it in gym today. It's not big deal, I'll be fine by tomorrow," Will replied, knowing he was a bad liar and trying to seem convincing. His dad gave him a stern look, but dropped the subject. Will thankfully went up to his room.

Will had never gotten a bruise from Warren before. His punches hurt, of course, but it was never bad enough to leave any physical evidence. He lifted up his shirt cautiously, inspecting the angry purple bruise right below his rib cage. This was probably the worst injury Warren had ever given him.

Will recalled the expression on Warren's face right after he had delivered that blow to his stomach. His usually menacing dark eyes were wide with shock, almost in disbelief at the force of the punch he had just given.

Will sighed and collapsed on his bed. He, of course, knew about Warren's "tough guy" reputation at school. Half of it he had gained himself. With his large muscles, strong brows constantly frowning, red streaks in his dark hair, and flame tattoos on his wrist, he was first in line to take up the "bad guy" position in the social food chain. The other half of why people were so intimidated by him was because of his dad. Barron Battle had been quite a famous supervillain, which didn't help Warren fit in at school any better.

Will almost felt sorry for him. He wished he had known him back when he was a freshman, like himself now, when he wasn't used to people recognizing him as his father's son. Maybe he looked like a normal kid, awkward untied shoe laces and all, like the rest of Sky High. Maybe he had only started wearing leather and getting tattoos because that was the only way anyone would ever see him, if they knew who his father was.

Then Will shook his head vigorously at the thought. _No!_ He thought. _Warren gave this monster bruise to me. He's the bad guy, and I'm the good guy, and that's the way it's always been._

But somehow Will couldn't shake the idea from his mind that he and Warren were more alike than they seemed.

The next day at school proved to be very different for Will. Layla and the rest of his friends were constantly grinning, proud that their best friend had managed a fair fight with the toughest guy at school. Will got a few approving nods from his classmates throughout the day. Will didn't feel particularly happy about it, though. He had lost the fight, after all, and Warren was still the meanest and toughest person at Sky High. Or, at least, that's what Will kept telling himself.

As Will was sitting in his chair in class, he felt uncomfortable. His stomach was still sore, and he was struggling to sit up straight. In the middle of his History of Hero Support class, the class door opened and Principal Powers stepped inside.

"Hello, class," she said cheerfully. Her smile dropped as she laid her eyes on Will. "May I speak to Mr. Stronghold in the hallway for a few minutes?" she asked Mr. Boy.

Will was surprised, and a little nervous, but followed the principal out into the hall. He heard a few suggestive "oohs" coming from the class behind him, and tried to ignore them. "Yes, Principal?" he asked her quietly.

She looked at him disapprovingly. "Mr. Stronghold, may I ask what you were doing yesterday afternoon, directly after school?" she asked curtly.

Will gulped. "Um… nothing much."

She frowned. "I know that you and Warren Peace were engaged in a physical fight. You're a good kid; I'm surprised that you would do this, when you are clearly aware of the rules against fighting on school grounds."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen!"

"But it happened. This is unacceptable, so I will have both you and Mr. Peace in detention today, right after school. Now, please go back to class."

Will looked at her helplessly, muttered a "yes, ma'am", and walked back into class.

"What're you going to do?" Layla asked Will somberly when he told her about his detention with Warren after school.

Will shook his head. "I don't know. Hopefully we won't be alone together."

His hope was in vain. When he walked into the detention room after his last class the only person there was Warren, and there were only two seats. Will supposed he could move the remaining chair to the opposite end of the room, but he was not bold enough to potentially offend the intimidating boy, so he reluctantly took the seat next to him.

Warren was reading a book, as usual, and Will took the opportunity to reach into his bag for his iPod.

"Wait… are there teachers watching us in here?" he asked Warren, remembering his first detention where there was no music allowed.

Warren looked up from his book as easily as though the two did not hate each other as they did. "Yeah. Maybe you could hide the earphones in your hoodie or something," he suggested.

Will nodded his head, allowing a small smile to stretch his lips. He found hope in Warren's conversational tone; maybe he did not hate him as much as he thought.

"Hey, Warren…" he started. Warren looked up again curiously. "I've been thinking… maybe we should stop this fighting that's been going on since school started. If we keep it up we could get in trouble with the principal again, and maybe even the police."

Will said those words with fear, and was amused when Warren appeared unbothered. He supposed he was used to the words "trouble" and "police."

"So, I'm offering a peace treaty. What do you say?"

Will extended his hand out to the bully. Warren stared at his hand as though it were diseased, and then turned back to his book.

"Pass."

Will was stunned, and slowly let his hand fall back to his side. Somehow, he had truly believed that Warren would want to put the violence behind him.

Will forgot all about his iPod and spent the rest of the detention time staring at his desk, becoming more and more angry with every passing minute. When the bell finally rang, Warren quickly left his seat. Will growled under his breath and hastily gathered his things before following Warren out of the room.

"Warren!" Will yelled when they were out of the school. The quiet boy turned around, startled. "What is your problem?" he demanded. With those words he charged toward Warren, tackling him to the ground, throwing punch after furious punch. Warren, too surprised to react, let Will attack him freely.

Will soon felt the hands of several teachers around him, pulling him back. One of them held his hands behind his back tightly, and he felt like a criminal, just like the boy in front of him on the ground.

"Will!" Layla cried as she hurried toward the sight. She had waited for Will during his detention and her eyes were wide with fright at the scene before her. "What is going on?"

Will jerked out of the teacher's grasp and started walking away from everyone. Layla was the only one who followed him. "Will!" she kept on calling after him. "What do you think you're doing? Do you have any idea what is going to happen now? Are you not thinking about the consequences of your actions?"

Will turned to her suddenly. They were now far away from the stairs where Will had tackled Warren, at the edge of the lawn. "Layla, stop it," he said.

Layla glared at him with furious green eyes.

He sighed. "We need to break up."

He avoided looking at Layla's horrified face, and instead noticed the teachers shouting at Warren with excessive force, inches from his face. The expression on Warren's face was shocked and vulnerable, and wide-eyed Will couldn't help but look at anyone but him.

---

A/N: Sorry for the wait. Expect a new chapter very soon.


	8. Chapter 8

Will walked into Sky High the next day absolutely dreading what was to come. After his breakup with Layla, it was bound to be horrifically awkward around his friends, and with the news of yet another fight between him and Warren, he was sure all eyes would be on him, _again_. He braced himself as he entered the classroom for his first subject, and didn't look at anyone as he took a seat. The lesson had barely started when Mr. Boy got a message to send Will to the principal's office.

A chill went down Will's spine as he entered Principal Powers' office. He had never been inside it, and he supposed it was reserved only for the worst students at Sky High. Guilt choked his voice as he muttered, "H-hello," at her figure behind the desk.

"Will Stronghold," she said.

Will gulped and nodded.

"It shocks me that I have to speak to you about your behavior twice in two days," she said slowly, coolly. "You do not seem to respond to words from your authorities."

Will wanted to argue with her, that he _was _a good kid, and that he did not belong here.

"So I have no choice but to suspend you until further notice."

Will's mouth dropped open. "I'm _suspended_?" he repeated in disbelief.

Principal Powers nodded sternly. "You attacked Warren Peace without provocation, and this is only the most recent in a series of physical fights between you two this year."

"But he was the one who attacked me first for so many weeks! And you're going to suspend _me_ and do nothing to _him_?"

"Oh, no, we are going to suspend him, too. You two will have equal punishment. Although we seem to have a hard time getting into contact with any of his family members," she sighed.

That did not make Will feel any better, and his breathing became much quicker. He had never expected in a million years to be _suspended_ for his actions. Warren had blatantly refused his peace offering yesterday, and if he continued the fighting, they would both be _expelled _from Sky High.

"We'll inform your parents immediately and send you home," Principal Powers concluded, dismissing Will with a wave of her hand. He turned on his heel and left the room, staring at the floor as he walked through the halls. He exited the school and found Ron Wilson waiting for him at the stairs.

"Will Stronghold," he said somberly. "I'm supposed to take you home. I heard you're in big trouble."

Will nodded helplessly, but didn't say anything. He let himself be escorted to the yellow buses by Ron, and soon he was buckled in and flying home. When he arrived at his house he walked across his lawn very slowly, dreading the moment where he'd have to walk inside.

Once he closed the door behind him he could see his parents waiting for him at the foot of the stairs, as though expecting him to make a break for his room.

"William Stronghold," his mother said dangerously.

Will winced and let his mother yell at him senselessly. His dad didn't do much yelling, but added in a few "You're disgracing my reputation" and "I never caused this much trouble when_ I_ attended Sky High" comments here and there. Will swallowed the urge to yell back, knowing he deserved what was happening.

"Go to your room," his mother commanded. "And stay there until they let you back into school!"

Will did as he was told, relieved to escape the lion's den. He threw himself into his bed and fought the childish tears starting to form in his eyes. He was soon asleep, a result of the restless night he had had the night before, with good reason, quite apparently.

The next day at school, everyone had heard the news; Will Stronghold, the good boy, the prodigy, had been suspended indefinitely. Layla and her friends felt almost offended as they heard this news in the halls just like every other student.

"Why didn't Will call us right when he found out?" Zach demanded. "He wasn't in class at all yesterday after he got pulled into the principal's office."

"His parents are probably really mad at him. I doubt he can use the phone right now," Ethan said in his defense.

"If they haven't killed him already!" Magenta added, throwing everyone else into silence.

"I know that Warren Peace was responsible for this…" Layla said through gritted teeth. At that exact moment, Warren turned the corner and started walking down the hallway. Layla clenched her jaw and walked up to him, blocking his path in the crowded hall.

"Why are you here?" she demanded. "Will was suspended, and I know you were involved in why it happened. So why aren't you suspended, or better off, expelled?"

Warren raised an eyebrow and said, "That's none of your business." He attempted to walk off, but Layla blocked him again.

"Tell me! Tell me why you aren't being punished, too! Let me guess, any more criminal behavior and your parole officer will send you to juvie? Is Principal Powers feeling sorry for you?" she said condescendingly, smirking up at him.

Warren's eyes darkened. "You'd be better off keeping that mouth of yours closed," he said before walking off past Layla and the rest of Will's friends.

Will was still in his bed the next morning, having left his room only to eat yesterday. He had taken the opportunity to catch up on his sleep during his vacation from school, although his parents weren't allowing him to watch TV or play video games or do anything else fun. To keep his mind off things, he read the few books he owned, and took frequent naps.

But it was hard to forget about how much trouble he was in when nearly everything he did reminded him of Warren; when Will picked up a tattered school copy of _1984, _he distinctively remembered Warren reading the same book a few months before. Will dropped the book immediately and went to find something else, but it seemed like every book he owned he had seen Warren read at some point.

Will eventually surrendered and threw his last book on the floor, and lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He felt defeated by Warren again as he allowed himself to think of him.

He thought endlessly about the expression on his face he had seen as the teachers were yelling at him for the fight Will had started; vulnerable, wide-eyed, confused. It was everything the opposite of what Warren always seemed like. Will started to feel guilty for causing the teachers to yell at him so, and his thoughts traveled back to his speculation about whether or not Warren was truly the mean bully he made himself seem like.

_ He certainly didn't seem happy being yelled at_… Will thought. _So why doesn't he just stop making people think he's such a bad guy? Why does he continue to get tattoos and wear leather and beat people up like me? Why won't he accept my peace offering?_

Will realized that even the gloomiest people at Sky High he had seen smile at some point. Other bullies like Warren smiled when they picked on freshman or shared jokes between each other. Overly-serious cheerleaders like Penny smiled when they cheered for the school. Self-conscious nerds smiled when they got straight A's on their report cards.

So how come Will couldn't remember Warren smiling at all?

That night Layla called Will's cell phone at least a dozen times, but it always went straight to voicemail. Layla tried to tell herself that Ethan was right and the reason Will wasn't answering was because he was grounded, but somehow she felt like he was still mad at her.

For whatever reason, Layla had no idea. She had done nothing wrong as a girlfriend, and could not understand why Will would break up with her. Yet, somehow, he had.

Layla lay awake in her bed, staring into the dark, going through everything she might have done or said to Will in the past few weeks, trying to figure out the mysterious reason for the break up. She became frustrated and restless as she could come to no conclusion. She got up from her bed and threw on her jacket.

Layla's parents did not object to her late night stroll, as they were aware that she was a thoughtful girl who often needed to take walks to think. Tonight, however, she had a destination in mind.

The Paper Lantern was a Chinese food restaurant Layla often ordered food from. She usually came there during the day, but one night she had visited the place after dark, and discovered that Warren worked there. She silently hoped that he would be there tonight as she approached it.

When she walked inside there were only a few customers left. Her heart skipped nervously as she saw that Warren was, indeed, collecting plates off of the empty tables. She looked around to make sure that the rest of the workers were busy as she took a deep breath and walked over to Warren and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around slightly and saw that it was her, he frowned.

"If you're here to yell at me some more, then leave. I'm working," he said before picking up the rest of the plates and walking away.

"I'm here to ask you a question," she said, matching his level of hostility in her voice. "It's important."

"I'm working," Warren repeated.

Layla felt herself become frustrated. "I'm not leaving," she said. Warren acted as if he hadn't heard her, moving onto the next table, so she continued. "I want to ask you about Will."

Warren snorted. "You're his girlfriend. I'm sure you know more about him than me."

Layla grimaced. "Actually, I'm not his girlfriend anymore." Warren turned around to face her, surprised. Layla frowned. "Not that that's of any importance," she went on. "He's been acting really weird, ever since you and he started fighting at school. I want to know why."

Warren still looked surprised, and his expression softened. "I don't know much about him other than the fact that I beat him up once in a while." Layla glared at those words. "I'm sorry that you two broke up, but I really can't help you." He turned around and stacked another set of dishes on top of the first. "Now please go away. I'm working right now and my boss will yell at me if she sees you."

Warren heard silence, and when he turned back around he was surprised to see that she had listened to him and was walking out of the restaurant.

Will was nearly asleep when he suddenly opened his eyes and sat up in bed. He had remembered something; During the first week of his freshman year, Will had walked into the library to get a head start on his booklist for his History of Hero Support class. That was the first time he had ever seen Warren, standing in front of a bookshelf of novels, a book in his hands opened up to the first page. And he was smiling. Will was amazed that he had ever forgotten such a smile.


End file.
